Why Jamarcus Russell Is Not a Bust!

There are a lot of Raider haters out there and one person they keep picking on is JaMarcus Russell. While JaMarcus Russell still has a lot of work to do, he did very well in the last six games of the 2009 season. The haters last off-season were reporting Russell ballooned to 300 pounds, which was not true. Here are the reasons JaMarcus is not a bust and will continue to grow to soon be one of the best QBs in the NFL:

1) Last season was Russell's first full season as a starter.

2) Russell had three different play-callers which does not help a young QB.

3) Russell did not have a good enough blocking for most of the season.

4) He did have the wide-outs to throw to for most of the season.

5) Russell is the youngest QB in the NFL, at only 23 years of age.

6) Russell threw 15 TDs and only 13 interceptions.

It is not a coincidence that Russell improved in the last six games. The reason he improved is because the Raiders inserted Mario Henderson and the pass blocking improved. Finally, there were two young wide-outs found out of nowhere, named Johnny Lee Higgins and Chaz Schillens, who scored a combined four touchdowns the last two game against the Texans and Buccaneers. Troy Aikman was 1-15 in his first year with the Cowboys and had worse stats then Russell in his first season, and he ended up being a three-time Super Bowl champion. John Elway had worse stats in his first full year with the Broncos, and he ended up being a two-time Super Bowl champion. Terry Bradshaw won four Super Bowls and threw more interceptions then touchdowns in his career. Last but not, least Peyton Manning was 3-13 in his first year even with Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison. You have to give JaMarcus Russell time; he was 5-11 in his first year as the starter of the silver and black. I don't know if Russell will ever be a Manning, but I have the utmost confidence that Russell has the drive to one day make the Raiders a Super Bowl champion team, sooner rather then later.